trip, fall, twist
by whimsicalitie
Summary: Gajeel Redfox is not one for dancing. Usually. A collection of one-shots. Will update as stories pop into my head. {Cover image by the lovely rboz.}
1. I Don't Dance

Hulloa! I'm back again. :) This time it's GaLe. Enjoy!

* * *

If there's one thing Gajeel Redfox doesn't do, it's dancing. _Usually._

But he really isn't one for sitting out on the sidelines while everyone has fun, either. Lily downs the last of his ale, then glances at Gajeel. "Gajeel. You should be having fun. You're in a castle, for God's sake." He snorts. "I ain't Salamander. I like it jus' sittin' here an' being quiet." The Exceed shrugs. "Whatever. Don't come crying to me when your cold, metal heart breaks." Gajeel takes a gulp of his own ale, then pushes it away. "Aw, shaddup." Lily just smirks 'cause he knows he's right. Then, out of nowhere, their heads lift simultaneously as they catch a lilac-scented breeze floating their way. "Levy," breathes Lily.

And then, the crowd parts like the Red Sea, just enough to let a small figure slip through unnoticed. Her hair is, in all its blue gloriousness, overly wavy. Gajeel straightens some, eyes following her every move. "Short stuff," is all he manages. She beams at the both of them, looking fantastic in her silky garments. Tucking a stray piece of her aquamarine hair behind her ear, she stretches out her arm.

"Want to dance? Lu-chan has Natsu, and Laxus asked Lisanna to dance, so I thought..." Pause. "I don't want to leave you out."

He snorts. "As if."

But he takes her hand anyways, spinning her towards the dance floor.

Gajeel doesn't dance...

..._usually._

* * *

Short and sweet. I dunno about you, but I would _looove _to be Levy. Reviews?


	2. Attention

Here I come, throwing more GaLe fluff in your face. You'd better like it...or else.

* * *

He never often paid her any attention. She understood that-he had more important, pressing things to do.

"NATSU! C'MERE SO I CAN KICK YOUR BUTT!"

Okay, not _that _pressing. But she knew that she was not as lively or curvaceous as her other female comrades, making her entirely too easy to miss. So of course she found herself rather jealous. Lucy often reassured her that she was just as pretty as the rest of them. "Don't worry, Lev," she'd say. "Someone will see your worth one day." Then she'd wink and twirl away to chat with Mira and Wendy.

Easy for Lu to say. She was unbelievably _gorgeous. _(Then again, it _did _get her a lot of unwanted attention from Taurus...yikes.) And Natsu was so _obviously _in love with her, too! But Lucy never noticed.

Sighing and sticking her nose back into her book, she stumbled a bit-only to run face-first into a broad, toned, black-clad chest. "Midget! Getcher nose outta that book and watch where you're going," he snapped. She flinched away some, averting his harsh, blood-red gaze. His expression softened some upon seeing her take fright. "Er...sorry. Flamebrain pushed me."

"_I _pushed _you? _More like _you _pushed _me_!" Gajeel whirled. "You wanna take this outside, ya flame-eatin' moron?! I'm busy!"

Neither of them noticed when Levy slipped away into the guild's library.

They were much too busy bickering like melodramatic teenage girls.

* * *

After a long day, guild activity was slowly winding down, with Macao and Wakaba both offering to walk Barmaid home from the guild. Natsu was pestering Lucy about spending the night while Happy attempted to offer Charle a fish. Wendy giggled at their disorderly (albeit not unusual) form, plodding along next to Gray-who was currently trying to keep Juvia at bay.

Gajeel swallowed the last of the fork he had been snacking on, and turned his crimson stare on the empty bar. Something was missing. _Aha! _The midget wasn't lingering behind with her fanboys and her usual stack of horror novels. Making sure nobody was watching, he strode purposefully to the basement of the guild. During the rebuilding of the lodge, Makarov made sure that Levy had a reading room dedicated to her as thanks for her help decoding something.

And then, as he turned the corner, there she was. Asleep. He sucked a breath in, watching her chest rise and fall. Her standard headband was lying on the desk next to her armchair, leaving her tousled locks of hair to shiver as she shifted eery now and then. A reddish-orange knit blanket was thrown on her lap. The book that she had clearly been reading (evidently one of the horror genre) was spread-eagled on the desk next to a cold, empty cup of tea.

A blush coloured her high-placed cheekbones, dark lashes brushing the tops of them tentatively. Every now and then they would flutter; leaving Gajeel to wonder what she was dreaming about.

He stood there for a time, simply watching her sleep-it was almost an art, the way she slept. Finally stepping forward, he brushed a hand over her bare shoulder (his heartbeat had picked up some) and gently shook her.

"Oye. Midget. Wake up."

To his immediate surprise, she shot up, banging forehead with him. "_Ouch!" _she yelped. "That hurt-! Gajeel?" Shock laced the undertone of her voice as she kicked the blanket off of her short legs. "What are _you _doing down here?" He mumbled something inexplicable (most likely an expletive) and stood up to his full, towering height. "Came lookin' for you, is all. Ya were asleep, so..."

"Oh."

He thrust a cool, dry palm at her and she placed her warm, slightly sweaty one into his. They ascended up the stairs quietly, and then suddenly:

"Did Natsu _really _push you into me?"

He snapped his scrutinizing countenance on her, eyes widening. A light, almost unnoticeable blush fanned across his face. "Y-yes! What, did you think I'd bumped into you on purpose?"

Well, she'd had her suspicions. But they were just that-suspicions.

Because after all, it's not like he ever paid attention to her, or anything.

* * *

Read and review! I love them! Thanks, Princess Twinkletoes.


	3. Talents

Wow. I really hadn't expected to update so often. Well, I hope my readers are enjoying. Anyways, here we go...

* * *

Lying was definitely not one of Levy's stronger traits. She was a good actress when necessary, but not a good liar.

That's probably why it was so easy for Gajeel to confront her about this. "Well?" he growls. "Were you or were you not?"

...actually, let's go back a bit.

* * *

Everybody in the guild was good at _something, _be it drinking (Cana), writing (Lu), singing (Mirajane), being a man (Elfman) and defining obnoxious (Natsu). But nobody _really _knew what Levy was good at. Sure, she had a way with words, but what else could she possibly excel in? There had to be something other than reading. So when Gajeel strolled causally past her and caught the word _sketch, _he knew that she was hiding something.

"Whatcha doin', midget?"

He swore she jumped ten feet into the air.

"_Kyaa! _UhmnothingwhydiditlooklikeIwasdoingsomethingcauseIwasn't!" she rolled all her words into one, making it sound rather unintelligible. But Gajeel got the gist of it. "It looked like you were drawing." She fidgeted some, twisting the pencil in her hand sideways. "I wasn't." He threw himself down on the bench next to her. "If you say so, Shorty."

At this point in time, Lucy was getting bored with Natsu's bar brawl (against Gray, no less) and was wandering over to Levy and Gajeel's spot. "Hey, Lev. What are you doing over here all alone?" Levy shrugged uncomfortably, trying not to draw attention to herself.

It didn't work.

"Ooh, is that a _sketchbook?__" _Lucy scooted closer to Levy. Before the bluenette could even say one word, Lucy had snatched up the book and was opening it. "Wait, stop!" cried Levy. "You shouldn't-you can't-" Lucy's mouth dropped open. "Levy! Girl, you can _draw!_ But why is this thing full of sketches of...G-_mmmph!_" Levy had slapped a hand over her blonde friend's mouth with anticipated fervour.

Gajeel's attention had been caught now. While she was fumbling with Lucy, he had scooped up the sketchbook and was slowly flipping through it. But it wasn't an ordinary sketchbook-it was filled with portraits of _him. __Him, _Gajeel Redfox. "Uh, midget...?" She turned at the sound of his voice, and at seeing her sketches in his hands, her face coloured very quickly.

"Gajeel! You're as bad as Lucy!"

"Have you been using me as a drawing model?" his voice had become harshly curious-an unusual tone for him to take on.

"W-what? No!"

"_Have you?"_

"I'm not answering that."

"Were you or were you not?"

"What?"

"Using me as a drawing model!"

"I told you-"

"Well?" He growls. "Were you or were you not?" This brings us to a pause in the conversation-where we began. Gajeel is confused as to why she would draw him, and her denials are quickly leading him to anger. _Confused _anger, but anger nonetheless. Levy was thoroughly embarrassed at having had her secret hobby discovered.

"Oh...you know what? Fine! _Yes. _Yes, I've been drawing you!" Face aflame, she took a deep, shuddering breath. Her outburst had surprised Gajeel. Both of his palms flipped up. "Look, I was just asking, okay?" There was an awkward pause in the conversation. Then: "Why do you draw me?" She blinked up at him. Lucy had cleverly slipped away before now, and thank God the entire guild was too busy focusing on placing bets about who would win against Gildarts. (Natsu wasn't even in the running.)

"Why do I draw you...?"

He shrugged, sticking his hands in his pockets. "Uh, yeah. Why not anyone else? Like, I dunno, your fanboys? I mean, you're pretty freaking good at what you do, so why waste your energy on drawing me?"

Her face reddened, this time from embarrassment. "B-because, um. Be-because you're-you're-_attractive."_

He stopped fiddling with a spoon long enough to stare at her. "No, I ain't."

"Of course you are. Your angular cheekbones, the sweep of your hair-"

"Aw, shaddup."

They relaxed into an easy silence. Neither of them said anything, letting the current of blessed silence drag them along.

"...you really are attractive, though."

"Well, course I am. Ya were drawing me." She grinned at him. He smirked at her. Then their eyes widened and they looked away.

* * *

From across the bar, Lily snickered. "Dorks."

_Just kiss already!_

* * *

Seriously, though. If I find out Mashima's simply been toying with us, I'll CRY. Reviews please! I love them :)


	4. Teaching (Part I)

I seriously feel like I'm just letting my fingers do the talking here...it's kind of weird. A small warning: I'm planning to keep these one-shots shorter than ten chapters. However, if it gets more popular...I dunno. I guess we'll see, yeah?

* * *

_"Please, _Gajeel?"

He swore. "No!" Levy glared at him. "Just one more! Please?" He tore his gaze away from her caramel-ly orbs of soft goodness (what a _sap _he was) and clamped his jaw shut. _If I say yes, she'll just want more! _She was drilling into his back with her angry glare, so he turned back around to find her glasses slipping down her nose. It ruined her comportment.

Suddenly, a sneaky grin lit up her face. "Howsabout you carry some for me, then?" He rolled his eyes. "I ain't your pack mule. Tell me again why'm here, eh, midget?"

"You owe me," was her absentminded response. She was busily shuffling through paperbacks that made Gajeel want to snore. _ To tell the truth, _he thought,_ she's right. _A few days ago, Makarov had entrusted the guild to its members. In retrospect, it probably had _not _been a good idea, but what other option did he have? He left them with explicit instructions _not _to destroy the guild building and its furnishings.

And what did they* do?

What they* always do-destroyed everything in sight. Luckily, Levy had been practising the word 'repair' as of late, and managed to piece all of the guild's belongings together in a timely fashion. That isn't to say Makarov didn't have his suspicions (he most certainly did-especially considering that there was still strawberry cake schmears on the wooden floor) when he walked inside. So the entire guild managed to avoid Makarov's wrath-at the expense of Levy's bookish desires.

"Whatever, midget."

She made an incomprehensible noise, then continued to rummage through shelves discontentedly. Out of nowhere, her eyes lit up with a fiery passion. "Gajeel! Will you come and reach this one for me? It's the last in the series!" He sighed. "Where's it at?" She thrust a finger towards the top shelf. Plucking it down, his eyes scanned the cover. It was a long-haired girl standing in the wind, eyes staring ahead but not seeing anything. He couldn't tell what it was called, though.

A small fact you should probably know about Gajeel: He can't read.

And he's not about to let that fact be revealed to the girl he has something more than friendly feelings for.

"Gajeel? The book?" He broke out of his odd trance and shoved it towards her. She tilted her head, recognizing his odd behavior for something unusual. "Is everything okay?" He turned his head to look at her. "Fine," was his sharp response. Levy laid a hand on his piercing-covered arm. Then her eyes narrowed. "Wait a minute."

"What?"

"You don't like being here, do you?"

She was smarter than she looked. (But he already knew that.)

However, she didn't know _why _he didn't want to be there. "Nah. It's just-I don't really fit in here." Her caramel orbs of extreme adorableness shifted to his sharp crimson ones. "You can't read, can you," she said softly. But it's not a question, not the way she said it. It was a fact.

He let a string of expletives fly. She winced. "How did you know?" was all he asked, cheeks reddening.

"...your, um-your jawbone-it tenses when you're hiding something. But everybody has a tell, you know," she said quickly; attempting to console him in a way. It didn't work.

He swore again. "Look. If ya wouldn't mind tellin' Flame-Idiot and Ice-Stripper anythin'...I'd be real grateful." She stared at him, then a small smile worked its way across her face. "Of course I won't tell. But-if you don't mind-like, you don't have to if you don't want to-"

"Spit it out, shrimp."

"I could...teach you. To read, I mean."

He goggled at her. Her? Teach him? _Alone? _His jaw tensed. She poked it, reminding him-"Oh."

"Yeah."

He grinned, shark-like, making a brilliant blush spread across her face. "Is-is that a yes?"

"That, pint-size, is definitely a yes."

She laughed, her own smile spreading now.

_Gosh, her laugh was infectious. _

He could have kissed her-right there.

But he didn't.

* * *

Well? Reviews, please! So these are still classified as one-shots by me, but...there will e a second part to it, soooo... :)

(Also, they*=Natsu, Gray, Gajeel, Erza, etc...)


	5. Teaching (Part II)

So...I know a lot of authors update on a scheduled basis, but I have a tendency to break rules. So I'll update whenever I want. _...aaaaanywaaaays, _I hope everyone had a great Halloween and stuffs. I will finish up this one and maybe-jut maybe-I'll write another one...(prob'ly a Halloween-based one-shot, now that I think about it...) I'm talking too much. Enjoy!

* * *

Levy raced around the next morning, cleaning everything up. It took her nearly two hours to clean the books off her library floor (yes; there was a library _inside _her apartment room) and throw all of her unused papers away.

When Gajeel and Lily first arrived, they caught her unawares-she had been snuggled into her cushy armchair with a stack of horror novels and brownie halfway to her mouth. "Oh! My gosh, I should have-I'm sorry, Gajeel! I-oh, geez."

"What're we startin' with?"

"Um-whatever you want to."

Lily nudged Gajeel's arm. "Tell her, Gajeel."

"What?"

"What you told me."

"I didn't-"

"Gajeel."

He released a heavy sigh. "Look, I ain't ever gonna be a huge book lover like you, midget. But I need to be able to read. Jobs and stuff. But I was wonderin'...d'ya have any history books? On...dragons? Just, y'know, curious."

Her eyes widened. "Follow me," was all she said.

* * *

"Fer crying out loud..."

Levy's library was huge. She had everything from art books to culture novels to linguistics studies! Lily flew from shelf to shelf, tugging out books and flipping through them. Gajeel walked around, eyeing everything in her shelves. "Ya got a lotta horror novels, midget."

"Mm-hm...oh! Found it! _Dragons' History and their Magicks."_

Gajeel's eyes rounded. He reached for it, but she pulled it out of his grasp. "Ah-ah. Not until the cookies are done."

He grinned. Cookies _and _the midget? This was gonna be a _good _night.

* * *

Three hours later, Levy was yawning and rubbing her eyes. "Tired, midget?" Gajeel's voice had taken on a gentle, husky tone that she had never heard him use. It made her heartbeat speed up. "No. Just a really long day."

He stood, picking up his coat. He shook Lily awake and stuck the last cookie in his mouth. He pivoted to face Levy, a 'thank you' on the tip of his tongue, but she was asleep. He chuckled. "Not tired, huh." He found himself draping his coat over her small frame ever so carefully. He had to restrain himself, though-the urge to kiss her was becoming an uncontrollable instinct. "Should probably head out anyways..."

He finally stepped away from her, only to see Lily smiling softly at him.

"What?"

"You're in love."

"No, I ain't! Where the-?! That's a right crazy notion, ya dumb cat."

Levy stirred. "...mnn...Gajeel..."

They whirled at the same time. Gajeel blushed a bright, brilliant red. He kind of looked like a brand-new stoplight that had just been installed. Lily snickered. "Not in love, huh?"

"No!"

"You are _so _in love."

"Aw, _shaddup!"_

* * *

Reads? Reviews? Yes? No? Okay. I shall commence the starting of Le Halloween one-shot now since this one is finished. :) Hehehe.


	6. Ah, Halloween

Okay. So, here's the promised Halloween one-shot. I know it's late (!) and for that, I apologise. But I hope you enjoy the latest fluff nonetheless. Disclaimer: If I said I owned Fairy Tail, I would be a big, fat, dirty, low-down LIAR.

* * *

As a general rule, Gajeel didn't go to parties. He didn't _like _being social, he didn't _like _being friendly, and he most certainly did _not _enjoy spending time with the idiots in the guild.

So of course when Lily casually mentioned it, the first thing that came out of his mouth was: "No. And that's that."

The cat shrugged, trying (and failing) not to look smug. "Well, I heard that everyone-and I do mean _everyone, _Gajeel-will be there for the party." The metal-eating dragon slayer said nothing.

"No comeback?"

His response was nothing more than a grunt. Lily narrowed his eyes. There was no way that Gajeel would be ignoring him.

...

In truth, the only reason that Gajeel was so silent was because he was mulling something over that could impact the rest of his life:

_Levy._

She'd come to him, a smile on her face, eyes bright with hope. "So I was thinking," she began. "I was thinking that since the Halloween party is coming up, I should dress up with somebody." He frowned. "Why're ya telling me?" She scrubbed the back of her neck nervously. "Well, I was-I w-was wondering since it's a holiday that requires costumes, you would maybe dress up with me...?"

He stared at her for a minute, then proceeded to burst into gales of raucous laughter. "Me...with you? You and me? Oh..." Tears sprang up in his eyes. "I can't-_ahahaha!" _

Her eyes were downcast some, shoulders hunched, giving him pause.

"Look, did Salamander put you up to this?"

Colour fanned across her cheeks.

"No! I-I asked you because I wanted to! I thought you might want to-I thought-I thought after all this time we were _friends." _

_Oh._

Everything fell into place at once. Her eyes were swimming in unshed, hurt tears. "But maybe I was wrong."

And then she took off in the other direction.

...

_"Gajeel! _For fairy's sake, look at me!" Lily was waving his paw in Gajeel's face frantically.

"What?" he snapped irritably, releasing hold of his previous memories.

"Focus! The party is tonight! I don't know _what _your problem is, but you sure as heck ain't sitting on your rump!" The cat finished smartly, thumping his dragon slayer's head for emphasis.

"Well, so what?"

"Are you going?"

"I said _no! _I don't do that sissy crap."

"Fine. But I heard Levy was going with some guy from the bookstore she goes to. And who knows what his true intention is," added Lily.

Gajeel stiffened noticeably. "...even if I do go, the heck 'm I supposed to wear?"

A sneaky grin made its way onto the Exceed's face.

"I can help with that."

* * *

Gajeel looked ridiculous.

He had a pair of furry, wolfy ears and an oddly long tail.

"You look ridiculous," sniggered Lily.

"Aw, Lil! Do I gotta say this again? Really?"

"What?"

_"Shaddup!"_

Levy walked in during their spat, and went completely unnoticed-until she breezed past them. Gajeel caught a whiff of her shampoo and winced. "Lily-"

But suddenly the cat was gone. _You're on your own now, _echoed the cat's voice in his head.

_Aw, fer the love o' stupid, good-for-nothing cats._

"Oye, short stack! Midget!''

Levy froze at the sound of his voice. He grabbed her shoulders and spun her around to face him. "What the heck are you dressed as?" he asked, momentarily distracted from his original goal. She averted her eyes. "Um, Red Riding Hood. But the cloak is too big." He smirked. "Figures."

She heaved an impatient, frustrated sigh and bit her lip. "Look, why are you over here?"

His face softened. "Erm...ta apologize. I didn't mean to come across as rude that day, or anythin'. I was just surprised that ya were askin' me-I didn't think that ya liked me that much."

An incredulous look crossed her face."You don't think I _like_ you? Gajeel, when have I _ever _said that?! I like you just good and fine. In fact, I like you a lot!"

Silence.

"...really?" was all he managed.

_"Yes!"_

He grinned, chuckling his deep chuckle that made her pulse race at an unhealthy rate. Then she joined in, giggling violently. They finally calmed down enough to look each other in the eye.

"So...are we okay?"

"Yeah. Yeah, we are."

Maybe something _more _than just okay.

* * *

Done! I know they're kind of OOC, but I was rushing...moms who want their computer back can't be scary enough ;) THE FLUFF SHALL CONTINUE! (Does anybody else thnk they would be perfect as Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf?)

I love writing...I'm such a clown. :3


	7. He's In Love

I love how much of a tsundere Gajeel is. He's so rough on the outside and such a _dork _on the inside. :) Enjoy.

* * *

"What? Levy's _never _been sick!" Jet cries.

Droy's double chins wobble. "But that job specifically requested a Solid Script Mage! What are we going to do?"

Mira sighs. "Sorry, boys. But I know what'll cheer you up! I need someone to to take soup to her!"

They jump up. "We can do it!"

She frowns. "Well, I don't know- it's raining pretty hard out there...you two aren't built for that wear and tear," she says apologetically. "And besides, Levy might be asleep, you know." They wilt and droop like flowers who have spent months in the desert without rain.

Mira's face lit up.

"I know who can do it! _Ne, _Gajeel!" she calls across the bar. His head snaps around, and he begins to saunter over.

"Whaddya want, Barmaid?"

"I made some soup for Levy- she's sick- but I can't get it to her because of the rain. Can I trust you to do it?"

He snorts. "Why would I do it?"

"I heard that you two are getting closer, you know, and I thought maybe-"

"_Alright, _alright! I got it. Just shut yer trap, would ya?"

She smiles sweetly at him. "Thank you, Gajeel! I appreciate it, and I'm sure Levy will, too. Tell her that her boys say hi!"

The guild doors slam shut with no response.

As if on cue, Jet and Droy burst into coordinated tears. "_Miiiira! _Why would you do that?" She blinked innocently at them.

"Do what?"

* * *

Gajeel's climbing the treacherous hill to Fairy Hills when a thought occurs to him:

_Titania._

She would annihilate him if she saw him step foot in that dorm. And it wouldn't be a quick, painless death, either.

So he does what he always does- something stupid.

He clambers through the midget's window; not expecting to knock over three stacks of books in the process. Of course, she just _had _to be asleep when he snuck in.

"Who's there?" She had shot up in bed at his entrance, eyes wide and frightened.

"Ow- it's- geezum, this is like an artillery, shrimp- do you even _use _that library of yours?"

Levy squints. "Gajeel?!" Then, coming to the realisation that it is indeed Gajeel, she squeaks and pulls the bedcovers tighter around her body.

"What are you _doing _in here?"

"Barmaid sent me with some soup fer ya. She says-"

He's debating whether or not to tell her about Jet and Droy.

"Says what?"

"That it's yer favorite soup or somethin'."

Levy beams up at him, eyes shining. But wait a moment- there's something different than usual. This isn't to say that she looks colder than usual, just that her eyes are darker and swimming in...fear?

Of him?

No. The thought is gone as quickly as it has come.

"_Ne, _Gajeel," she says softly. He looks at her, their eyes connecting.

"What?"

"...do you ever have nightmares?"

Ah-ha.

"Did you have a nightmare?"

Her eyes widen. "N-no! I didn't-"

His voice cuts her off, growing soft and husky. "You looked scared, shorty. Ya still do." Surprised at his concern for her emotions, she slides to the end of the bed and pats it. "I did have a- a- nightmare," she confesses (but he already knew that).

"About what?" he says, bedsprings squeaking as he sits.

"I- I know it's silly. I know it is. But it's the dragons. I dreamt of the dragons. And everyone was dying, crying for help. And then-" she squeezed her eyes shut, taking a deep, shuddering breath. "-and then, there you were, covered in blood. All I remember was saying your name, like a- a mantra. That's when you broke in, and I woke up." She's leaning against his body now, curling like a child into his side.

Without warning, he feels himself wrapping his arms around her. She doesn't fight it; simply melting into his embrace. They are like puzzle pieces, he realizes, meant to fit together.

(He blushes furiously at this.)

"Look," he says gently. "I ain't going anywhere. Not now or ever. Got it?"

"I know," she snuffles into his shirt.

"Good."

He stays there until she falls asleep, eyes fluttering some.

And then he feels it, whispering in his mind:

_You're in looooo~vvvve!_

He knows. Oh, how he knows.

* * *

Ah, hope you enjoyed! I was kind of rushing on this one too- I kind of want this one-shot collection to be over...I'm nerdy and really excited for my new story-which is, you guessed it, GaLe! My deepest apologies. But I can't help it!


	8. Kisses and Random Ice Sculptures

Short and sweet. Drink it up, folks, it's the last one for this collection. :)

* * *

She watches him ruffle Wendy's hair affectionately, grinning at her cheesy joke. Charle is smiling some, but her eyes are guarded - she cares deeply for Wendy and is careful to not let anyone hurt her.

But what about Levy? She's tired of being patted and teased and hearing "shorty" this and "midget" that.

He lopes over to where her seat is and throws himself carelessly onto the bench. "Oi, shorty," he greets her. His hand lands on her head and that's when it hits her - she's so incredibly _jealous _of Wendy and the proper attention that she receives.

Her eyes start to tear up unexpectedly, making her nose burn. She sniffles quietly and moves out from underneath his hand. Startled, he peers down at her. "Hey…" she slides a little further away from him.

Her lips pursed, she says nothing.

_Ping! _The lightbulb goes off above Gajeel's head.

Suddenly, she feels fingers sift through her hair. "Is that what you wanted?" he rumbles. She looks up, surprised. Her eyes are watery. "Uh, I didn't - "

And then he leans down, fingers sliding to the back of her neck. His lips are warm and astonishingly soft when they press against her cool ones. Her cries of protest are swallowed by his tongue. Her hands go to his chest to push him off, but instead her fingers choose to curl into the fabric of his shirt.

When they finally pull away, the looming threat of her tears have receded, and he's finally gotten his kiss.

"Don't expect me to ask you out, 'cause I heard how fast Speedy and Plantman got turned down." She laughs. "I don't have to go out with you to be happy, Gajeel. I never have. I just want to be with you."

His face turns tomato red. "I - uhh - I…"

She just leans in and covers his mouth with hers, cutting off his incoherent stammers.

...

Wendy and Charle exchange glances. "They really love each other, huh, Charle?"

"I would say so, yes."

And with that, they amble over to Natsu and his team to watch Gray make an ice sculpture.

* * *

And now, to work on my other stories. ^ ^


End file.
